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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Succubus' Sub by John Dylena

The Succubus' Sub by John Dylena shares the world of Raethiana, along with many of the same themes explored there, but with much more of an emphasis on the power-exchange of a dom/sub relationship, and significantly more gender-bending (much to my admitted delight).

Our story this time around involves a lonely young virgin named Brett, who spends most of his time sitting around his apartment playing online games. When he does venture out into a social situation, it's usually only because he's been pressured by his coworkers, and he's not at all comfortable doing so. When a beautiful woman hits on him at the bar and follows him home, he's both nervous and excited, but he can't begin to imagine what she has in store for him.

You see, Myserra is a demon . . . a succubus, in fact, who lives to feed off the sexual energies of young men. As a virgin, Brett represents an especially tasty treat, but there's something more to him that calls out to her. While she could (and usually would) turn him into a mindless slave, she chooses to open up, explain the situation, and invite him to become her willing submissive. She wants the intellectual and emotional connection that such a relationship provides. She wants to be with a submissive who will please and obey because he wants to, not because he has no other choice. If he should happen to fall in love with her along the way, so much the better for them both.

As her prey, Brett is scared, nervous . . . and extremely curious. He's not some instant submissive, perfectly suited to the whims of a professional (supernatural) dominatrix, but a novice who doubts himself, makes mistakes, and honestly struggles to deal with how his submission begins bleeding into his day-to-day life. He learns and grows as the story progresses, coming to first enjoy, then accept his submission to Myserra. He eventually come to love her, and actually wonders if it would be better to become her mindless slave, rather than risk disappointing or failing her. That's where things get really interesting, as Dylena develops and grows both characters, all while evolving their relationship into something complex and delicious.

To get back to the gender bending I mentioned earlier, much of Brett's submission involves being turned into Brooke. Depending on Myserra's whims, life as Brooke involves everything from simple crossdressing, to physical feminine augmentation, to a complete transformation into a woman. What begins as a little submissive roleplaying in the bedroom soon turns into secretly being Brooke all day in the office, protected from discovery by a spell that ensures everybody 'sees' Brett - even if Brooke's heels do make him a bit taller, and her invisible breasts make physical contact awkward. At the same time, much of Myserra's domination involves transforming herself into (quite literally) a horny shemale who takes Brett's virginity in more ways than one. When we finally learn the truth about Heather, Brett's sexually charged boss, the story really kicks into high gear.

The Succubus' Sub is an erotic adventure, a BDSM romance, and a paranormal fantasy all at the same time. It's a smart story, with some wonderful insights into both the power exchange and gender roles, that allows you to appreciate it on multiple levels. At the same time, there's so much imagination here, every time you think Dylena has reached the heights of erotic adventurism, he tops it with something both more sensual and far kinkier. As much as I enjoyed Raethiana, there's no doubt that I enjoyed The Succubus' Sub so much more - this one spoke to me on a deep, intimate level, making me wish I could step into Brett's shoes and Brooke's heels at the same time. If you're at all curious, then I urge you to give it a read . . . just prepared to get lost in Myserra's world for the night.